WebPress LLC reported to me at Graph Expo that it now has helped hundreds of newspaper and semi-commercial plants around the world upgrade their multicolor printing capabilities by installing its Quad-Stack 4-over-4 compact color printing units. Ideal for adding color to existing single-width, one-around press lines, the firm’s Universal Printing Modules (UPMs) can be configured as one-, two-, three-, or four-high perfectors. A spacer can be added for two-web production. The low-profile footprint of less than 9 feet — less than half the height of a four-high — makes for easy additions.

The basic UPM component is a webfed offset printing unit that prints a single color on both sides of the web of paper. The UPM contains four solid stainless-steel printing cylinders: two plate and two blanket cylinders. UPMs are shaped so they can be placed one on top of the other, with each added module enabling the printing of one additional color on each side of the web. These stackable modules can be mounted above a reel stand or a base frame, according to WebPress.

In the March issue of E&P, I referenced a new folding solution from East Indian press manufacturer Manugraph DGM that allows users to toggle back and forth between trim sizes ( “Broadsheet, Tabloid, or Inkjet: It’s All About the Folds”). Compatible with any single-width press, the ST-40 add-on enables existing press folders to produce smaller, sectioned broadsheets at speeds up to 40,000 copies per hour (cph) — and save paper in the process. This is a compelling proposition, especially as more publishers contemplate switching newspaper formats from broadsheet to compact.

Showcased in October under the Newsprint Pavilion at GRAPH EXPO in Chicago, as well as in Germany at Manugraph’s drupa show debut this past spring, the ST-40 folder produces a 15- to 18-inch-height broadsheet product with half-inch current cutoff page width (variable height and variable product capability), easily optimizing existing legacy equipment to the shorter cutoffs. It also maintains flexibility for alternative formats, allowing seamless transition from standard broadsheet, tabloids, and quarter-folded products to new sectioned tabloid products. The folder includes a slit and angle-bar section, positioned 90 degrees to the device, which folds the web into a Berliner or compact-sized product (also see E&P December 2011). The ST-40 can produce two to five sections with variable page counts in all sections.

Additionally, the DGM ST-40 applies to the entire installed base of 4×2, 2×2, and 2×1 presses and doesn’t require a plate conversion on 2×1 or 2×2 configurations. Production speeds are substantially increased, as two-around presses can run straight and produce the same capacity as running collectively. Single-width users can double their capacity, because each ribbon becomes a web (two ribbons per web), allowing 64 per page per four-section broadsheet with no new tower additions required.

“We’re finishing the last pieces of the design and are ready to build a prototype,” president Dave Moreland told the American Association of Independent News Distributors earlier this year, adding that Manugraph DGM is looking for a newspaper partner to test and evaluate the folder. “There is a lot of interest, but it’s still difficult to find someone who will take the step. The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch project is good news for us.”

The ST-40 could be installed in conjunction with a press’ existing folder, allowing printers to diversify their offerings, Moreland said. “They will be able to go back and forth, and this will give them one more format,” he said.

First M360 presses ordered
Manugraph India Ltd. has announced two orders for the M360 press introduced earlier this year at drupa. Both orders come from South American countries. Araucária Industria e Editora Ltd., located in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil, purchased one four-high tower with one auto-paster and a 6-web F122 jaw folder. The M360 is replacing a Solna D-30 and will print a 7,000 circulation daily newspaper (Correio Lageano) in addition to other semicommercial print jobs in the Santa Catarina market. Also, J.P. Belga e Thome Ltd. purchased two four-high towers with two manual unwind stands and a 6-web F122 jaw folder. The company was recently created by the owners of Tribuna do Interior (located in Campo Mourao) and Tribuna do Cianorte (located in Cianorte) to print its own newspapers and other third-party publications in the state of Paraná. The two newspapers were previously printed on sheetfed presses. The M360 is a single-width, single-circumference offset press with a rated speed of 36,000 copies per hour. The printing units include standard brush dampening, motorized registration controls, pneumatic impression, and lever-style inkers.

PrintCity Workshop in Brazil

More than 30 members of the Associacão Nacional de Jornais (ANJ) attended a joint workshop meeting organized by PrintCity in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in September. Following an introduction to the Brazilian market by ANJ executive director Ricardo Pedreira, the main session was led by PrintCity Alliance members manroland web systems, Océ and Trelleborg.

The workshop focused on new business models and opportunities for newspapers in Latin America, plus an update on the latest lean and green industry thinking. After the meeting, a tour of the press facilities at Zero Hora was followed by a dinner. A series of interactive presentations and audience discussions included these topics:

Green and Lean — mutually dependent objectives

New possibilities with digital printing solutions and offset/digital combinations

Protecting investment in installations

Web printing

Newspaper innovations

“Our ANJ members found the workshop with PrintCity members very useful and productive,” Pedreira said. “Sharing information, opportunities, and samples about value-added printing, press productivity, and lean and green good practice created a very positive discussion and learning experience for all.”

PrintCity Alliance members work together with local organizations and partners in Latin America, Europe, and elsewhere to share their combined cross-industry knowledge at targeted events, seminars, and workshops. For more information, email info@printcity.de.

5-year Brokered, Non-newspaper Agreement

Gannett has entered into a partnership with InnerWorkings, Inc. to exclusively manage print procurement and print management for non-newspaper print products such as direct mail, marketing collateral, inserts, and select publications, among other items. “With InnerWorkings, we are streamlining our third-party printing across our business units,” said Evan Ray, president of Gannett Publishing Services. “Through this partnership, we will further enhance cost savings for the company.”

This agreement is part of the ongoing Gannett Publishing Services initiative to consolidate and drive efficiencies within the production and distribution of its print products.

“We are excited to partner with Gannett on such a comprehensive print management solution,” said John Eisel, chief operating officer at InnerWorkings. “Gannett is a leading media company, and we believe there is significant opportunity for us to help Gannett improve the efficiency of its third-party print production operation while maintaining its high brand standards.”

InnerWorkings is a leading marketing supply-chain company servicing corporate clients across a wide range of industries. With proprietary technology, an extensive supplier network and deep domain expertise, the firm procures, manages, and delivers printed materials and promotional products as part of a comprehensive outsourced enterprise solution. InnerWorkings is based in Chicago, employs approximately 1,200 individuals, and maintains 44 global offices.

Malaysian Newspaper Upgrades

Goss Intl. has launched a comprehensive press controls upgrade program for Sin Chew Media Corp., publisher of the Sin Chew Daily in Malaysia. The project involves installation of new hardware and software systems to deliver the latest capabilities from three existing Goss Universal presses at the publisher’s plant in Kuala Lumpur and from another Universal press in Johor. The four presses being upgraded each comprise eight four-high towers, one folder, and eight reelstands.

The turnkey upgrade project involves replacing existing proprietary press controls with industrial open systems. This includes the replacement of printing unit electronics with latest-generation Goss print-quality modules to control register, dampening, and inking. PLC automation systems and networking are being replaced with the latest industry-standard ethernet-based systems. Four new combined consoles per press will manage all aspects of print control, including production planning, CIP3/JDF-compliant presetting, soft proofing, monitoring, and job reporting.

Completion of the project will see automation of all press auxiliary systems, including reelstands and web tension controls, integrated into one system, providing pressroom workers with new levels of operational convenience and flexibility. Via a standard ethernet network and remote input/ output controls at the units, the entire press will also be supported by a remote diagnostics service, enabling Goss technicians to provide Sin Chew Daily with round-the-clock assistance.

“The new electrical architecture is designed for low maintenance with redundancy of the existing systems and components as required,” said Stéphane Jaunasse, Goss Intl. customer service manager. “With every aspect of the press production embedded into and driven by one open and accessible system, the 12-year-old Universal presses will be upgraded to a modern, user-friendly, high-quality printing solution, providing all the capabilities the company requires for its clients’ diverse range of production demands.”

With work already under way, Goss is working in close cooperation with Sin Chew Media and other suppliers in managing the project to ensure minimal disruption at the plant and uninterrupted production throughout.

Operating Goss presses at six locations across Malaysia, Sin Chew Daily is the largest circulating Chinese language newspaper in Southeast Asia and the largest Chinese daily outside mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. With a circulation audited last year at 465,894 copies and a readership of 1,300,000 people, the daily broadsheet has become highly influential in the Malaysian media landscape, covering current affairs, business and finance, sports, lifestyle, and regional interests.

According to Sin Chew Daily group general manager Peter Ng Kait Leong, confidence in Goss was crucial to the decision to invest. “We have had a long-term positive experience with Goss equipment, and the team from Goss Intl. understood our current requirements very well. They have come up with a solution that allows us to eliminate components as they become obsolete, while providing a growth path for any necessary future additions. We’re very confident of having chosen precisely the right package to modernize and enhance our capabilities to see us through the next 10 years of production from our existing Universal press.”

The investment by Sin Chew Media is the second such major press controls project in close succession for the Goss Lifetime Support team in Malaysia. In May, Star Publications chose Goss to retrofit three Colorliner presses, originally installed in 2002, with a complete new control system.